By Karen Mahoney, Special to your Catholic Herald

As a husband and father in his mid-40s, much of Ted Fischer-Toerpe’s life is consumed by his job and family, including spending time with Sharon, his wife of 23 years, and three daughters, ages 15, 17 and 21. Their 20-year-old son lives in Minneapolis. While Fischer-Toerpe’s parents experienced the Catholic Church as an integral part of their lives, the same was not true for the Milwaukee resident who was raised Catholic.

“I know I made a conscious decision to leave religion when I was 16,” he said. “Honestly, I can’t remember the specifics, but a close friend had left the church to join his uncle’s non-denominational Pentecostal church. I think he convinced me that I was just going through the motions with my Catholic faith.”

In many ways, Fischer-Toerpe is typical of an estimated two-thirds of Catholics in the United States who stop practicing their faith for a portion of their lives, according to a 2005 report of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. He cited the freedom to make his own choices as a reason for leaving.

Sharon and their oldest daughter had a hand in his return.

“A few years ago, she and my oldest daughter, then 17, decided to pray for my conversion,” he said. “Not knowing anything about this, I woke up one morning with an unshakeable certainty that I had been told to pray. Two weeks later, I secretly went to confession and an early weekday Mass. I had been away for nearly 30 years. After another month, I told my wife and family, and we now attend St. Augustine’s (West Allis) together.”

Since Fischer-Toerpe’s self-described “revert” to the Catholicism, he is a member of his parish’s Christian formation committee and parish council, and an usher and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist. In his yearning to reach out to others who have left the church, he is his parish’s liaison for the District 16 Come Home conference, March 25 at Alverno College.

“Since I came back to the church only four years ago, it was natural that my pastor, (Franciscan) Fr. Lawrence Frankovich, would ask me to help out,” he said. “Being someone that has ‘come home’ to the church myself, I love sharing what I’ve rediscovered with others.”

Jan Braun, 57, had been away from the church 30 years before her return in 2003.

“I didn’t know what I was missing,” said the parishioner of St. Florian, West Milwaukee. “The church family is wonderful. People are there for you.” Braun, St. Florian liaison for Come Home, said she is back because the Holy Spirit “just grabbed me and said, ‘You’re going,’” and because of Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan.

“When Archbishop Dolan came to town, he was on radio, he was on TV being interviewed. I felt this uncontrollable urge to get into church,” she said. “I e-mailed the archbishop and told him, ‘It’s all your fault (that I want to return to church).’”

Even though she and her husband needed to have previous marriages annulled, Braun didn’t mind the delay in being able to return to the sacraments.

“It was easier coming back than it was leaving,” she said.

Retired from the Elmbrook School District, Braun works two days a week at her parish as its communications coordinator.

“I am having the most fun,” she said. “I have so many talents they want.”

Designed for inactive Catholics who may wish to return to the church, the conference will include a keynote address from Fr. Bryan Massingale, associate professor of theology at Marquette University, who will speak on “Why be Catholic today?” Workshops on children’s religious education, the Bible, annulments, marriage issues and Catholic rituals will be offered as well as displays from each of the 15 participating parishes. Clergy, pastoral ministers and parishioners will be available to listen or answer questions.

According to Milwaukee Archdiocesan statistics, in 2004 there were 58,389 Catholic households in District 16. The district is aware of a significant number of unregistered Catholics who cite their lack of involvement due to apathy, guilt, marriage issues, busy schedules or bad experiences with the church.

Debra Hintz, parish director at St. Catherine of Alexandria, Milwaukee, initiated the project while serving as pastoral associate at St. Matthias.

“Having worked with the evangelization committee at St. Matthias for seven or eight years, we were looking for an avenue that would attract a larger number of inactive Catholics,” she said. “We sponsored the ‘Returning Catholics’ series on our own, but would have only small numbers respond. I was aware of the ‘Come Home’ event that took place in Waukesha County in 2000.”

Hintz and core members Franciscan Sr. Cal Leopold, pastoral associate of St. Rita, West Allis; Gina Kuemmel, director of evangelization at St. Gregory the Great, Milwaukee; and Joe Kallenberger, business administrator at Our Lady of Lourdes, Milwaukee, wrote a proposal for the project; sought the approval of the district’s priests; applied for grants; met with a public relations firm; found a venue and contracted with speakers. When Hintz left St. Matthias in June, Brigid O’Donnell, pastoral associate at that parish, joined the core team.

Heavily involved in coordinating activities among participating parishes, Kuemmel already considers the project a success.

“Of course we want people to come on March 25, but we feel the project is successful in that we put the invitation out there that we miss those who left, that we want them to return, that we will support them as they take a step in coming back to the church, and that we believe that the church still has something worthwhile to offer them,” she said, adding, “As one parishioner put it, ‘When is the last time you got an invitation to anything from a Catholic Church?’”

Hintz, who will emcee the event, said that most Catholics are aware of individuals who have drifted from the church and believe that many would return if given an invitation.

“For years, at St. Matthias, we distributed door hangers within our parish boundaries during Advent and Lent,” she said. “These hangers included an invitation to return to the church for those who were inactive. It was amazing to me that people actually came back because of that invitation. One woman said to me in tears, ‘I didn’t know the church would ever want me back.’ She had been away for 30 years.”

While St. Matthias didn’t realize large numbers returning, there was enough anecdotal evidence suggesting to Hintz that it was a worthwhile endeavor.

“I often thought that if people came back because of a simple door hanger, imagine the outcome if we made a wider appeal. And imagine the effects our own parishioners could have if they were more comfortable inviting others in a gentle way, to return to the practice of their faith,” she said.

It is through that gentle and non-threatening manner that Sr. Cal hopes to welcome those who may be curious about renewing their relationship with the church.

“We want to make an invitation and show the hospitality of Jesus and step up evangelization and be a welcoming presence to those who may have an inkling of an idea that they may wish to return,” she said. “We want to answer the ‘what if’s’ and how to get back to church. They may have children who need to be baptized and may have all sorts of questions. We hope they experience a tug at their heart put there by the Holy Spirit. God is the real inviter, but God uses us to be part of the Body of Christ and that is the whole part of this.”

While the “Come Home” team hopes to draw at least 250 participants in the conference, they are mailing 60,000 invitations to households within the zip codes of District 16. Although two parishes within the district — St. Mary, Hales Corners and St. Alphonsus, Greendale — opted not to participate, Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady Queen of Peace parishes from District 15 are.

“We also plan to put announcements in the bulletins and to the people in the pews,” said Sr. Cal. “It is partly their task as well to evangelize. Our main priority of the church is spreading the Good News and everybody can have a role in that. People have an opportunity to tell their neighbors about the conference.”

Following the event, a number of newcomer friendly events are planned to help participants continue the conversation. As the liaison from St. Martin of Tours parish, Karen Neuberger will help compose a follow up letter.

“We want the participants to know that we thank them for coming and if there is anything else we can do for them, we are happy to do,” she said. “And we want them to know that we are all here for them, at any of the parishes around here. Sometimes we put on big events and then it’s done. I believe it is so critical to stay in touch and let them know that they are welcome for all times and in everything we are doing. Anything we do to offer our time and our experiences whether in an effort to share information, clear up misunderstandings is worthwhile and anything that plants a seed is worthwhile.”

Other Milwaukee parishes sponsoring Come Home are Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady Queen of Peace. Other West Allis parishes include Holy Assumption, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mary Queen of Heaven, St. Aloysius, St. Mary Help of Christians, which closed Feb. 18. St. John the Evangelist, Greenfield, and St. Martin of Tours, Franklin, are also sponsors.

If you go:

Come Home: Return to your Catholic Roots, Sunday, March 25, 2:00-4:45 p.m., Alverno College, Conference Center, 3400 S. 43rd St., (414) 545-4281

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